The Wells Fargo Championship has been kind to Rory McIlroy over the years.
The 35-year-old heads into the tournament at Quail Hollow this week having won the event on three previous occasions (2010, 2015, 2021).
The Northern Irishman got back to winning ways recently after triumphing at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans with fellow Irishman Shane Lowry.
McIlroy’s victory at the Zurich Classic was his first on the PGA Tour since the Genesis Scottish Open in 2023 and the four-time major winner feels revitalised going into the Wells Fargo Championship this week.
“The week in New Orleans did me the world of good just in terms of the fun element,” McIlroy said after playing a practice round at Quail Hollow.
“It was a lot of fun; we had a great time, regardless of the result.
“But then, obviously, the result was a bonus, too, and getting the win with Shane. And I think as well, with how I felt like my game came around, especially on the weekend there, I played great.
“Then to win with a friend and what that did for both of our seasons, right? It got Shane into the last few signature events.
“It got us both up the FedEx Cup points list quite a bit. And it gave us a lot of confidence going into the meat of the season and the summer. So, yeah, it was a great week.
“I’m so glad that we were able to do it and play, and, yeah, it definitely makes me excited about the rest of the year now.
McIlroy has been famously stuck on four majors for ten years, with his last glory coming at the 2024 PGA Championship
He finished 16 shots behind Scottie Scheffler at The Masters last month as another major passed him by.
Nevertheless, he has continued to rack up wins on tour and is the first player to reach 25 PGA Tour wins (regular season events and majors) since 2005.
McIlroy admitted the major setbacks have been tough to swallow but his first win of 2024 served as a ‘great lesson’ in remembering to have fun on the course.
“I think when you’re going through a spell of golf where you’re not getting the results that you want, it’s hard to have fun, right?” he said.
“It’s hard to keep your enthusiasm. It’s hard to keep that positive mindset, week in, week out.
“That was my fourth week in a row, and I was saying to my team last week, it’s a great lesson for me that when things aren’t going great, sometimes it’s not about going back home and working on your game and standing on the range.
“It’s about trying to play, and play through it and understand what your misses are and how to manage.
“It was a good lesson to me that sometimes just to keep going is the right thing to do, and to keep playing and to keep working on what you’re working on and having faith that it is all going to come together at some point.”
When McIlory was at Quail Hollow in 2016, a fan threw a “weird” object onto the course and was ejected.
McIlroy is now looking for his 40th career win, which could come at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship.
Failing that, he will have the chance to secure the milestone at next week’s US PGA Championship at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville – a tournament he’s already won twice before.
News Summary:
- ‘It’s a great lesson for me’ – Rory McIlroy explains new approach as he heads to Wells Fargo looking to continue stunning record
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